Curve reflects on Fluidity – creation, Nintendo’s involvement, and more

Fluidity was a long time coming for Curve Studios. The company pitched various ideas to Nintendo since its creation in 2005, but it wasn’t until the 2008 Game Developers Conference that the WiiWare project began to take shape.

Curve’s design director Jonathan Biddle told EDGE this month:

“We had this idea for a game about water. We sat down with [Nintendo] and pitched a few things, and we didn’t think they’d liked any of them; they were quite po-faced about it, probably because they’d been sat in a room for a week listening to pitch after pitch.”

Nintendo reached out to Curve a few weeks later and offered to pay the studio to develop an “experiment”. As it turns out, it wasn’t too often that Nintendo accepted pitches.

According to Biddle:

“Not very many things get through that wringer. So we were amazed to get that, and we spent six months looking at the tech and the water physics to see if Wii could run it, if the motion-control system could work, and whether the idea actually had any legs.”

Curve spent about a half a year designing its project from scratch. It worked with Nintendo along the way – sending builds on a regular basis, receiving in-depth assessments, and communicating extensively. EDGE states that Biddle would get lengthy replies when sending 3,000 word emails.

Technical director Richie Turner spoke about the importance of Nintendo’s feedback with EDGE, noting:

“The criticisms they give you on the whole process are like gold dust. When they say less of this or more of this, you pay attention. All the platform holders have got their game evangelists and design guys who give very valid feedback, but when you’re talking to Nintendo, you’re only a couple of steps removed from the likes of Miyamoto.”

There was one important piece of feedback that came straight from Nintendo president Satoru Iwata, according to Biddle.

“Iwata couldn’t stand to watch the WiiWare demo because it made him really ill. He suffered from simulation sickness, so he literally couldn’t watch the game that he was signing off on.”

Curve attempted to address the issue with various solutions. Fluidity’s camera brackets ended up being a direct result of Iwata’s queasiness.

EDGE’s article states that Fluidity’s sales weren’t high despite attaining critical success. However, Nintendo was pleased with the game and ended up requesting Curve make a 3DS sequel. While the first pitch was rejected since motion controls and glasses-free 3D were thought to be incompatible, Nintendo eventually signed off on having a 2D version with gyro controls after realizing that stereoscopy wasn’t as big a selling point as expected.

Turner said that Fluidity: Spin Cycle “did well”, but Biddle indicated that it didn’t move enough units for Nintendo to consider a follow-up.

“We’d love to go back, but the budget would be significantly more for Wii U,” Biddle said. “We’ve had discussions, but the last pitch was a while ago now.”